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I don't think that the charcoal should be coming out. I just found one this past weekend at a wrecking yard and nothing is coming out of it. The one that came with the car, the charcoal is not coming out of it either. maybe the one you have is damaged in some way.

The Evaporation Control System (ESC) is designed to prevent fuel vapors from vehicles fuel system from entering into the atmosphere. The fuel system is closed with a normally sealed fuel tank filler cap and a vent system is provided through which fuel vapors are conducted through a vent line to engine compartment where they are burned in the engine.

The Charcoal Canister is filled with activated charcoal which absorbs and stores fuel vapors when the engine is not running. The one you show is used on all General Motors V-8 engines (except Chevrolet). The canister has two hose connections on it's top as you can see. When the engine is running, air is drawn in through the bottom of the canister. This air picks up vapors which are being held by the charcoal and carries them through the carburetor into the engine where they can be burned. This action purges and renews the absorbtion quality of the charcoal.

The filter should be replaced at 12,00 miles or 12 months. Disconnect the hoses from the top and remove the canister. Remove the cover from the bottom of the canister by pulling it down to disengage the clips (most of which are usually missing after time). Remove the filter and install a new one. Make sure that the element is in under the retainer bar evenly and tucked under the canister lip. Snap the bottom cover back on and reinstall the canister and reconnect the hoses.

Now your canister shows that the filter is not there. It should fit in that space between the bar and the grid that you see. The other piece of foam like material that you see is another filter to keep the charcoal from falling out. The filter that is missing, filters the debris in the incoming air. That filter that you see in yours is torn and I don't think you can replace that one without destroying the canister.

The replaceable filter is just a flimsy see-thru fibreglass disk, like you would cut out of those cheap furnace filters.
The charcoal itself is contained in some other kind of other 'filter bag'.
I need to crack open a cannister some day to see its guts...

Wow - I have never seen one leak charcoal, even with no filter on it. ...
I never knew these could be rebuilt successfully.

So can these things be rebuilt, or do I need to find a replacement?
I can't figure out how to get it open without destroying it.
Mine is leaking charcoal as soon as the little filter is picked up (see attached).

I just figured it has some function, and don't want hoses that go nowhere in the engine compartment. Already have a couple of those that I am working to resolve.
Saving the 100 point restoration for my next one ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDchanic

If not, I'd just leave it in there in whatever condition it's in and ignore it.

So do you recommend that I shake the loose charcoal out, stick the new filter in at the bottom, and call it a day?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDchanic

Maine doesn't check emissions on antique cars, and even in Cumberland county, where they test emissions on modern cars, they don't test evaporative emissions.

So do you recommend that I shake the loose charcoal out, stick the new filter in at the bottom, and call it a day?

I wouldn't shake anything out of it, I'd just check it to be sure that there are no leaks where there shouldn't be any (and, no, I have no idea where it should or should not leak - I've just always ripped them out and thrown them away).

Mine is leaking too. Started when I removed the bottom filter to clean the unit. Can you buy the replacement filter mat? I was going to cut up a piece of furnace filter mat and stick in there. I am going after an original look but really do not care if it works or not.